The one thing that could be expected to disturb the peace of life at Blandings is the incursion of imposters. Blandings has imposters like other houses have mice. On this occasion there are two of them--both intent on a dangerous enterprise.

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The one thing that could be expected to disturb the peace of life at Blandings is the incursion of imposters. Blandings has imposters like other houses have mice. On this occasion there are two of them--both intent on a dangerous enterprise.

Having either read or listened to a number of the Blandings Castle stories, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Lord Emsworth and his looney family. I guess this book was probably written early in the series, before Freddie's marriage and the introduction of "The Empress". Although it contains many of the same plot elements of other Blandings sagas, there is a lot more action "below stairs" in this one which really does make it SOMETHING FRESH.

I am a big Wodehouse fan but this is not one of his best novels. Still, it's an enjoyable story. It could have been lifted to be even better had the narrator been any good. Inexplicably, the producers went ahead with a narrator who can ONLY do funny old men voices. Thus, the young men sounded like old men, the young women sounded like old men, the Americans sounded like old British men, as did the servants, you get the idea. This was such a problem that I literally could not figure out which character was speaking during many of the scenes. I really cannot understand why the audiobook was allowed to be released in this condition.

This is not on the list of my favorite Wodehouse. Some of the series is fantastic, this one just didn't capture me at all. I particularly love Jonathan Cecil reading Wodehouse, I have most of his recordings of Wodehouse and also others reading Wodehouse and I think Cecil is the best by far. I love all of the Jeeves- particularly Thank you Jeeves, Carry On Jeeves and The Mating Season. Loved Damsel in Distress and Luck of the Bodkins. But Something Fresh just doesn't have "it."

Wodehouse is a great pleasure, and a generally underrated author. too often, when lists of great authors are made, the comic ones are disregarded, as if the art of writing humorously is a second-rate art. However, the command of language and turn-of-phrase that Wodehouse enjoyed is first rate. It is damned difficult to be consistently funny. And this, one of his greatest works, exemplifies this skill.

Jonathan Cecil does justice to Wodehouse, although not quite reaching the art that Simon Callow did - the latter's performances unfortunately not being available anywhere anymore.

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